Roh on the six party North Korea agreement

So, are the analysts who line up behind John Bolton's opinion right? Well, I sympathize with the naysayers. But anyone who saw the footage that American journalist Lisa Ling brought back from North Korea last year would agree that Pyongyang controls information on their doings very tightly. So at this moment, the US government does not have any choice but to rely on Beijing and Seoul for their opinion of the deal.

There is no question that North Korea will hang onto its nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future. And we have no assurance that North Korea won't break the agreement they signed on Tuesday. However, the deal wasn't only about nuclear weapons:

SEOUL (XFN-ASIA ) - South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun says the six-nation deal on North Korea's nuclear programme could lead to a permanent peace agreement on the Korean peninsula.

Roh, in a presidential statement released [2/13] during a visit to Spain, said he expects smooth implementation of the agreement reached in Beijing under which the North agreed to disable its nuclear facilities in return for fuel oil.

'What is quite important in the agreements, aside from the settlement of North Korea's nuclear issue, is the phrase that says talks should start to discuss a permanent peace regime on the Korean peninsula,' the statement said.

'Furthermore, the agreements call for talks aimed at establishing a multilateral security cooperation system in northeast Asia and this has wide scope,' it added.

The agreement, reached yesterday, calls for participants to hold a ministerial meeting not only to confirm the implementation of measures toward dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme but to 'explore ways and means for promoting security cooperation in northeast Asia.'

It says the six countries will make joint efforts for 'lasting peace and stability in northeast Asia' and 'negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean peninsula' at an appropriate separate forum.

'When a multilateral security cooperation system is in place in the northeast Asian region, it will put South Korea's geopolitical position at the nerve centre,' Roh said.

'If a permanent peace system is negotiated and concluded, there will be no non-economic hurdles to South Korea's ascent to the top of the global credit rating ladder,' he added.(1)

The big question is whether Beijing is jumping for joy over the prospect of a "permanent peace regime" on the Korean peninsula. We should know by the summer whether Washington succeeded in encouraging Beijing to break out the party hats and champagne.

1) AFP via Forbes